ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s presidency should by right be held by a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) rather than a candidate chosen by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a KDP official said Sunday.

Top jobs in the federal administration are distributed on the basis of parliamentary numbers. As the KDP emerged as the largest Kurdish party in Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary election, it should technically be given the presidency.

Since 2005, the mostly ceremonial role has always been held by a member of the PUK in exchange for the KDP holding the Kurdistan Region presidency.

“The post of the president has not yet been decided between us, and the PUK has not spoken on this matter,” Mahmoud Mohammed, KDP spokesperson, told Rudaw.

“The president, prime minister, and speaker of parliament are distributed in accordance with points and we consider we are more deserving of the position of president.”

It has already been decided that the post of president will be held by a Kurd, he said.

This is not the first time the KDP has staked a claim to the presidency based on its share of seats – 25 against the PUK’s 18.

The KDP and PUK have been discussing a joint platform for negotiations with Iraqi parties to secure the best possible deal for Kurds in any government formation agreement. The topic of who will take the presidency has not yet been raised, Mohammed said.

“We have not discussed with any sides as to who will assume the post of president, but it is already decided that the presidency will go to a Kurd in the Kurdistan Region and Kurds will decide on it,” he said.

The PUK has held the presidency since 2005 – two terms held by Jalal Talabani and one term by his successor Fuad Masum.

Harem Kamal Agha, a PUK MP in Baghdad, told Rudaw earlier this week the post should remain with his party through “agreements with the KDP and other parties”.

The PUK is more concerned with securing “Kurdish rights” than government posts in Baghdad, he said.

“To regain the post, the PUK will surely sign agreements with the KDP and other parties to create a balance in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region,” Agha added.

Following the electoral commission’s formal ratification of the results, Iraqi political parties have intensified their efforts to form the biggest possible bloc in parliament able to form a government.

Without the Kurdish and Sunni parties on board, however, no bloc has so far succeeded.

Rudaw